The present invention relates to a roulette wheel assembly and table arrangement for playing what will be herein referred to as the real game of roulette.
In the real game of roulette the wheel has appropriately numbered and colored slot compartments around its circumference. The table is arranged so that there are 152 choices of bet that can be placed by each player.
It has previously been proposed to produce a machine for playing a fully automatic game of roulette which corresponds to the real game as played in casinos. The result of these proposals has been a range of machines which are merely video or electronic representations of the real game. These known machines are played using small amounts of money placed on a limited number of bets in comparison with the real game and table. These machines are suitable only for amusement arcades, and their design structure would not be suitable for use in a casino.
From European patent application No. 0269331 A2 is known a roulette wheel assembly including a roulette wheel 2 surrounded by a circular runway 4. A release opening 8 is located in a circular wall 6 located along the outer boundary of the runway 4. In operation the wheel 2 is rotated, a ball 20 is propelled through the opening 8 onto the runway 4 and finally settles into a slot compartment of the wheel 2. To release a ball 20 from a slot compartment the wheel 2 and drive motor 24 are lowered to allow the ball 20 to fall down a recovery member 30 and into a release device 32. The ball is then recycled along a release passage 34 to a hitting device 36 which propels the ball out through the release opening 8.
With this assembly it is necessary to lower the entire wheel 2 and drive motor 24 in order to release a ball 20 from a slot compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,650 refers to an automated roulette game comprising a control means to control the rotation of a roulette wheel, a ball launching mechanism for releasing a ball into the roulette wheel for each spin, and an automatic ball return mechanism for resetting the ball for release by the ball launching mechanism. There is however no disclosure of how the ball is received by the ball return mechanism or of how the ball return mechanism operates.
It is an aim of the invention to enable the above-mentioned disadvantages of previously proposed machines to be alleviated.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a roulette wheel assembly comprising a rotatable roulette wheel having a plurality of slot compartments around its circumference, a drive motor to rotate the roulette wheel, a firing mechanism to propel a roulette ball onto the rotating roulette wheel, which is shaped so that the ball finally lands in a slot compartment, and return mechanism to return the ball from the slot to the firing mechanism characterized in that the floor of the slot compartment is movable between a raised position to retain the ball in the slot compartment and a lowered position to allow the ball to be received by the return mechanism.
The drive motor may be operable to rotate the roulette wheel at a selected one of a range of speeds, and a constant drive pressure may be applied to the roulette wheel.
The firing mechanism may include a ball magazine, a firing tube and an air blower to propel the roulette ball through the firing tube and onto the roulette wheel. The air blower may be operable to produce a plurality of different ball firing air pressures.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the return mechanism may include a collector channel to receive a ball form a slot compartment, and director means to direct the ball to the ball magazine. The ball magazine may be adapted to contain a plurality of balls of different weights. The action of lowering the slot compartment floor can also open the firing breech of the firing mechanism to enable a ball to enter.
A sensor mechanism may be provided to identify the slot compartment containing the roulette ball. This sensor mechanism may comprise a zero sensor to indicate when the roulette wheel is in the start position, a compartment sensor on a radial axis of the wheel to count the number of slot compartments passing the start position, a ball sensor on the same radial axis as the compartment sensor to detect when the ball is located on said radial axis, and electronic circuitry to compare the readings of said zero sensor and ball sensor.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a roulette table arrangement including the above-mentioned roulette wheel assembly and at least one betting station containing a roulette betting layout.
The above-mentioned betting station may comprise two laminated materials mounted on a stiffening plate, and the lower laminate may comprise a printed contact circuit layout corresponding to the betting layout of the betting station. Raised domes representing at least some of the betting positions of the betting layout may be provided. These domes are positioned so that pressing a dome activates the printed circuit of the lower laminate to instruct a corresponding bet to be placed. The domes may be constructed so that the action of pressing a dome emits a sound indicating that a bet has been placed, and an amplifier may be provided to amplify the sound.
The roulette table arrangement may also include a video monitor to display a betting layout of a corresponding betting station and any bets placed thereon.
An electronic stake chip is provided for use with the above-mentioned roulette table arrangement. This chip includes an indicator providing a visual display of a player""s financial credit. The roulette table arrangement may also include a credit head which is operable so that on placing the chip in electronic contact with a betting station, the chip provides a visual indication of a player""s credit throughout the game.
In order to play the game of roulette using the above-mentioned roulette tale arrangement and electronic stake chip, the roulette player starts by paying his stake money to the casino cashier. The player is given a single casino chip with the value of the money paid shown on the chip indicator. The player then places the chip on the roulette table to make electronic contact with his belting station. After hearing the croupier""s voice saying xe2x80x9cplace your bets pleasexe2x80x9d, the player presses the appropriate domes to select the slot compartment or compartments on which the player is betting.
All the bets placed are shown on a video monitor corresponding to the player""s betting station. The stake chip will show on the video monitor and display the player""s financial credit at that instant. The propelled roulette ball spins round the roulette wheel and lands in a slot compartment having an appropriate number, and the croupier announces the number. The bet winnings or losses will be added to or deducted from the stake chip and the resultant financial amount will be displayed on the chip indicator. The player can then commence placing more bets for the next game.
When the player decides to finish playing and to cash in his winnings, he takes the chip back to the cashier""s window. The cashier checks the amount shown on the chip and pays out the appropriate amount of money.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying illustrated drawings in which: